Friday, December 11, 2015

Dec. 11, 2015 Friday: 2nd Week of Advent C

Dec. 11, 2015 Friday: 2nd Week of Advent C

Once I came across a cartoon strip depicting this situation: a man and a woman appear stranded on an island. The man looks suggestively at the woman. Apparently, he had said something seductive to her because the scene shows her shaking her head and emphatically saying, “I will know. That’s who will know!” Remarkable integrity and inner freedom!

The people who opposed Jesus expected him to dance to their tune. Their tune, however, was arbitrary, for it catered to their hidden selfish ambitions and desires. Jesus knew. He remained unaffected by these pressures. He danced to his own tune. He was directed by inner motives that he felt secure and certain about. Attuned to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit, he was single-hearted in following the Father’s will. He was therefore certain of the fruit of all that he did. He knew where they come from.

In my daily life I hear many voices from within and from without. Do I dance to the tune of others in order to win approval, in order to belong, no matter what? Or do I foster in myself critical, reflective thinking to discern what is of true and what is not? Am I attuned to the still inner voice of the Spirit?